Hi, we are Virna and Ernesto from Argentina. We are pleased to inform you that the DVD of our new documentary Heart of the Factory, is now available. The acquisition can be made through the PayPal system, from all over the world. The film is about the workers of Zanon Ceramic in Argentina. They take the factory in their own hands when the owner closes it. They start to produce ceramics again, but without bosses. We were living and filming inside the factory for 2 years. You can find all the information at: www.cdfdoc.com.ar

HEART OF THE FACTORY
a film by Virna Molina and Ernesto Ardito

SYNOPSIS:

In Argentina, the workers of Zanon Ceramic take the factory in their own hands when the owner closes it. They start to produce ceramics again, but without bosses.
Now, they feel free. They’ve found in their work a way to grow humanly. But at the same time, they have to assume a series of responsibilities and challenges. Usually, this provokes serious arguments among them or with themselves. During that process, the workers had to study and to overcome themselves in order to solve all the problems linked to the areas of production. Through the democratic assembly, they found a way to support their organisation and learn how to take their own decisions in the management. In a country devastated by an economic debacle, they created two hundred new jobs. Now they are 470 people working in the factory. Together with 5,000 Neuquen’s inhabitants who support them, workers have resisted four attempts of evictions. They do not consider themselves as the new owners of the ceramic factory: on the contrary, they consider the Neuquén community as the only owner. And they give back in donations to the most needed sectors the surplus that the factory produces. This is a permanent challenge where every day they have to fight against a political and economic system that tries to boycott them. Their biggest obstacle though does not come from the outside. It is about their own fears inculcated by this society. Although many of them do not know it, if they win the battle in their consciences they will open the door to build a completely different world.

AWARDS:

First Kodak Award to Best Latin American Project
Mexico City International Contemporary Film Festival (FICCO-Cinemex).
Best Documentary Film
Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO).
Special Jury Prize
Catalunya Latinamerican Film Festival (Spain).

The film was selected in the official section of the following film festivals:

International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam (IDFA- The Netherlands), La Habana International Festival of the New Latin American Cinema (Cuba), Mexico City International Contemporary Film Festival (México), Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival (Greece), San Diego Latino Film Festival (USA), BAFICI – Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival (Argentina), Reykjavik Shorts&Docs Film Festival (Iceland), 1001 International Documentary Film Festival (Turkey), Valdivia International Film Festival (Chile), Festival de Biarritz (France), Trieste Latinamerican Film Festival (Italy), Latin American Film Festival of Catalunia (Spain), African, Asian and Latin American Film Festival of Milan (Italy).

The film was possible with the financial support of:

Jan Vrijman Fund – IDFA – International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam (Holland).
Heart of the Factory was awarded with the Grant for Production an Postproduction.

Alter-cine Fondation (Canada).
Heart of the Factory was awarded with the annual grant of the fund

La Base, Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein, ...and with the solidarity of many people and organizations from all over the world that helped us to finish the film through the pre buy of the DVD during the filming.

More information and trailer at:
WWW.CDFDOC.COM.AR
Official Website

From this page you can also buy our other film Raymundo, about the argentine filmmaker,
Raymundo Gleyzer, kidnnaped and murdered by military dictatorship in 1976. The website is www.filmraymundo.com.arThis documentary won 16 international awards.

This 2-week HDV workshop is designed for photojournalists who are looking to make the move to videojournalism and the web, new documentary filmmakers who want to launch their careers in web and television documentaries and for those with experience in some aspects of filmmaking that are looking to expand their skill, understanding and mastery of the whole process. Producers, cinematographers, editors and writers with narrative experience who are considering working in non-fiction filmmaking are also encouraged to enroll.

Students will learn all aspects of the process including the importance of the still image, HDV camera, compact lighting methods, field sound, field editing and how to weave the story. To view an extended version of the course description, visit our website at www.barefootworkshops.org.

This is one of many workshops that Barefoot will be running in 2009. In addition to the Mississippi Delta, check out our website to learn more about our workshops in Africa and how you can participate.

Barefoot Workshops is a New York City-based not-for-profit 501(c)3, founded by Chandler Griffin in 2004, that offers short, intensive workshops around the world in narrative and documentary filmmaking. We assist organizations and individuals to use media, music and the arts, to accelerate progress and program goals in areas such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, conflict resolution, resettlement, youth empowerment, civil rights, and democracy building. We have worked with partners as diverse as UNESCO, Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, The U.S. State Department and The Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), to pioneer new formats and “media templates” that reinforce citizen-led, community-owned solutions to these challenges.

The main goal of Barefoot Workshops is to equip students with the knowledge and confidence to use sophisticated equipment while having a foundation that allows a person to create beautiful images regardless of the tools. At Barefoot, growing and learning as a filmmaker means growing and learning as an individual.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 Week Documentary Workshop – Cape Town, South Africa
Start Date: November 15th, 2009

Take a workshop with Barefoot and make a difference in the world by using your knowledge together with HDV technology. Create skills that will allow you to continue making positive change anywhere and everywhere.

This class is structured for individuals who are interested in mixing travel, social activism, and HDV documentary filmmaking into one amazing month in Cape Town, South Africa. The workshop is set up for the adventurers who feel the pull to use their skills to contribute to a grassroots non-profit organization (NGO) in sub-Saharan Africa. Subject matter is not limited to NGO stories. Cape Town is rich with stories that have not been told.

Students should have some experience with video and editing. If you are interested in the workshop and have never worked with video, please just write and let us know.

This 4-week workshop is designed for new documentary filmmakers who want to launch their careers in film and television documentaries or for those with experience in some aspects of filmmaking that are looking to expand their skill, understanding and mastery of the whole process. Producers, cinematographers, editors and writers with narrative experience who are considering working in non-fiction filmmaking are also encouraged to enroll. This workshop is ideal for working professionals who want to develop important skills, which will allow them to work with other filmmakers.

Students will learn all aspects of the process including the importance of the still image, HDV camera, compact lighting methods, field sound, field editing and how to weave the story. To view an extended version of the course description, visit our website at www.barefootworkshops.org.

This is one of many workshops that Barefoot will be running in 2009. In addition to the Cape Town, South Africa, check out our website to learn more about our other workshops and how you can participate.

Barefoot Workshops is a New York City-based not-for-profit 501(c)3, founded by Chandler Griffin in 2004, that offers short, intensive workshops around the world in narrative and documentary filmmaking. We assist organizations and individuals to use media, music and the arts, to accelerate progress and program goals in areas such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, conflict resolution, resettlement, youth empowerment, civil rights, and democracy building. We have worked with partners as diverse as UNESCO, Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, The U.S. State Department and The Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), to pioneer new formats and “media templates” that reinforce citizen-led, community-owned solutions to these challenges.

The main goal of Barefoot Workshops is to equip students with the knowledge and confidence to use sophisticated equipment while having a foundation that allows a person to create beautiful images regardless of the tools. At Barefoot, growing and learning as a filmmaker means growing and learning as an individual.

A national competition seeking the best videos, photographs, and stories describing how individuals, families and communities are managing during these hard times.

One of the unexpected outcomes of the Great Depression was a decade of creative outpouring that covered the U.S. map. Under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), thousands of artists fanned across the country documenting the experiences of everyday Americans as they worked to maintain their families, their communities, and their way of life in the face of a national economic crisis.

Now, as Americans are again experiencing financial hardship and uncertainty, First Person Arts invites artists to document how this generation of Americans is coping.

Inspired by the artists of the WPA, who documented the experiences of Americans in every part of the country, First Person Arts is asking artists to help craft the first draft of the history of our era by capturing, in photographs, on video, or in writing, the stories of America and its people during these difficult times.

Our goal is to gather stories from all 50 states.

Artists:
We are looking for short memoirs and essays, documentary films, and photographs that depict Americans from all walks of life. We are especially interested in stories that are unique to your family, your community, your town, your region – that capture the idiosyncratic things that are happening where you live – the slices of life that, taken together, will give us a First Person picture of America in 2009 – the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful.

Guidelines:
Writing submissions – up to 2,500 words.
Film and video submissions – up to five minutes, excluding credits.
Photography submissions – may include up to five photographs, with or without accompanying text of up to 100 words per image.

Submission deadline: Was: June 30, 2009 Now extended: July 15,2009

Finalists in each category (writing, film, and photography) will be featured on the First Person Arts website (www.firstpersonarts.org) and at the First Person Festival of Memoir and Documentary Art, November 4-8, 2009. First place winners in each genre will be invited to Philadelphia to participate in the festival. A cash prize will be awarded to the best story overall.

Docs In Progress Rough Cut Screening in Washington DC Friday, July 10
Join us for a screening and feedback session for the following films:

BACK UP! concrete diaries (15 minute excerpt)
by Monique Hazeur and Nijla Mumin
Sidewalks, street crossings, corridors, and hallways are hostile territory where women and girls experience verbal assault from men on a daily basis. How are women fighting back and defining their own personal and public spaces?

KEEPING THE KIBBUTZ (60 minute rough cut)
by Ben Crosbie and Tessa Moran
An examination of the challenges of a community in transition from the perspective of members of an Israeli kibbutz who are facing the inevitable end of their communal living experience.

WHEN?
Friday, July 10, 2009
7:00-10:00 pm

WHERE?
George Washington University Media and Public Affairs Building
805 21st Street, NW (corner of 21st and H Streets)
Auditorium B-07 (one floor down from street level)
Washington DC 20052

COST?
$5 suggested donation. Cash only at the door or order tickets online in advance. Visit our website at http://www.docsinprogress.org to order tickets in advance.

Special thanks to The Documentary Center at George Washington University for sponsoring our Washington DC screenings.

The Reach Film Fellowship is a granting program supporting filmmakers who have recently completed a film studies program (or who have an equally rigorous, self-taught background) and are producing socially relevant short films.

Four fellows are selected per year to receive a $5,000 grant, production support from sponsors, mentorship, workshops, career coaching and industry exposure.

Every year, one fellow is awarded an additional achievement award of $5,000 for his/her next film, or for the distribution and exhibition of his or her Reach film.

In 2009, we will consider applications from filmmakers who have (or will have) graduated from film school in 2008 or 2009, and who will live or stay in the New York Tri-State Area during the course of the Fellowship cycle. Self-taught filmmakers, please email us to discuss your eligibility.

The Global Lives Project is planning a shoot in South-Central Asia for August/September 2009. We will be recording the life story and 24 hours in the life of an as-yet-to-be-selected person from one of the following countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan or Uzbekistan. The subject will be age 10 or younger and will come from a religious community outside of the world’s major religions. See the subject selection page on the Global Lives website for more details on the proposed subject profile.

We are a nonprofit educational arts organization with more than 250 collaborators in 8 countries and we are looking for volunteers in South-Central Asia to participate in the project. While participation will not be remunerated, the project offers broad, worldwide exposure for collaborators’ work and the opportunity to be a part of a growing and dynamic collective of creative and socially-minded filmmakers. While our current priority is to find a Producer, we need all of the following types of people and organizations:

Partner institutions – We are looking to partner with a university’s communications department, a museum, a video production studio, or any other cultural institution interested in being involved in the shoot from start to finish, and also with organizing an exhibition in the future.
Co-director/producer – Involved in subject selection process from the beginning, making preparations for shoot on the ground. Approximately 6-8 days total of time commitment including preparations and shoot. Also involved in post-production.

Camera operator – Commitment for the day of the shoot only + transportation time. Works usually in 2-person teams for 8-hour shifts.

Photographer – Day of shoot only + transport, 8 or 12-hour shifts.
Production assistant (good position for a film student) – Providing support throughout selection process to the director/producers with preparations for shoot. Commitment to assist with post-production also helpful.

Interpreter/translator – Needed for the day of the shoot as well as for pre- and post-production.

Crew Members
We already have three experienced Global Lives Project volunteers ready to join with local collaborators to produce the shoot:

Nobuhiro Awata
Nobuhiro Awata is an experienced video producer and director, photographer and audio technician. Born and raised in Japan, Nobuhiro lived in New York City for five years and now is living in Taipei where he is studying for a degree in Computer Science. Nobuhiro was a co-Producer of the Global Lives Japan shoot in 2007 and a camera operator and still photographer for the Global Lives China shoot in 2008.

Chieko Kato
Chieko Kato is from a small, traditional city called Takayama in the mountains of Japan. From a young age Chieko was eager to see the world, and made it her mission to travel at every chance she gets. In between extended bouts of travel, she studied commercial photography and worked for 5 years in New York as a freelance photographer, photographer’s assistant, and photo retoucher. In 2007, she returned to Japan and has been working as a freelance photographer, producer and interpreter for small video shoots, and as a studio assistant. She participated in the Global Lives Japan shoot in 2007, as a still photographer and production assistant and again as a still photographer on the Global Lives China shoot in 2008.

Local team members will also be asked to provide camera and sound equipment.
To find out more, check out our website at http://globallives.org and send an email to production [at] globallives [dot] org. Emails will be understood easily if sent in English, Russian, Spanish or French. If you can translate this email to any other language, please do and send it along freely!

Every month at DocuClub a filmmaker presents a rough cut of her film to DocuClub members and the public. A facilitated discussion follows each screening. Past films that have been shown at DocuClub include "Born Into Brothels" (Academy Award for Best Documentary, 2004), "Prodigal Sons" (Telluride Film Festival 2008), and "Disturbing the Universe: Radical Lawyer William Kunstler" (Sundance Film Festival 2009).

DocuClub is accepting entries that fit the following criteria:

They are in the rough-cut stage and thus ready to be screened.

They are no longer than 95 minutes and no less than 45 minutes.

They have specific challenges that you wish to workshop.

We're specifically looking for a rough cut to show at our September screening on Wednesday, September 30. Please note that the screening will take place in New York.

If you would like to be considered, please mail a clearly labeled DVD screener to the address below. (Please note that your screener will not be returned unless you provide a SASE.)

The UnionDocs Collaborative:
A new program for non-fiction media research and group production.
www.uniondocs.org

Overview

The UnionDocs Collaborative (UDC) is a one to two-year program for twelve emerging media producers, theorists, and curators. It is both a rigorous platform for exploring contemporary approaches to the documentary arts and a process for developing an innovative group project. The program focuses on providing what we believe are the most effective educational resources for individuals at the beginning of their careers:

* direct contact and structured exchange with visiting artists.
* exposure to a wide variety of practices and models.
* dynamic interaction among a network of talented peers.
* regular group critique sessions.
* mentorship toward the production of an original work.
* exposure through a toured exhibition and/or publication.

The UDC has been set up to be affordable and scheduled for individuals who may need to work full-time or freelance while being involved in the program. It offers an intensive learning experience at a price that one might expect to pay for just a single credit at a university. While the UDC may have many parallels to parts of a masters program, it is designed to be an alternative-approach that focuses on inspiration from working artists and self-organization within a group, rather than a teacher-led environment. The UDC does not grant degrees or certificates; instead, the completion of an excellent collaborative project is the goal.

For some, participation in the program may lead to further study. For others, it may lead to independent projects or the beginnings of careers within the industry. For all, it is an unparalleled immersion in the expansive field of non-fiction media and art.

Masterclasses and Events

The twelve carefully-selected participants in the UDC have open access to all UnionDocs public screenings, lectures, exhibitions, workshops, and resources. Over the course of the year beginning in September, participants also attend private masterclasses with over thirty visiting artists. These artists represent a broad range of work in non-fiction film, radio, photography and interactive documentary. In these private meetings, the visiting artist shares the detailed history of a particular project from both a practical and a theoretical perspective and then enters into an extended discussion with the group. When appropriate, visiting artists may also offer critiques of works-in-progress by participants of the UDC. Based on individual initiative and with support from the Program Director and the UnionDocs staff, participants may curate public events, bringing the artists of their choice for masterclasses and presentations. Check back soon for a growing list of confirmed masterclasses and screenings for Fall 2009.

Production

The program also facilitates the production of an annual project, a unique collaborative documentary work, offering a way for the group to author individual pieces within the context of a larger framework. The annual project approaches a singular subject from multiple perspectives, following multiple stories, and containing work in multiple media, which may included critical writing or curatorial work. The structure is left open to reflect the interests and talents of the individual participants. The process for developing this work is led by a Mentor with expertise in both non-fiction media and collaborative structures. The final manifestation of the whole project will vary from year to year as a suitable constellation of formats are chosen by the Mentor and Executive Director; one year's project might be a DVD and book, another might end up as an installation and a website. All projects will be shown first at UnionDocs and then designed to be reproducible and seek broader channels of distribution.

IDA is doing an upcoming Doc-U session on getting the best score for your film on Thursday 23rd July at the Kodak Screening Room in Hollywood. Miriam Cutler will be talking about the process from the perspective of the composer, the filmmaker and the editor. Promises to be very educational. Tickets sell early and space is very limited, so if you're in the market to learn more about composing and music for docs, I encourage you to attend.

The National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture is excited to announce this year's conference program has been posted at: http://namac.org/conference-schedule. We hope all of you Documentary professionals will join us in Boston.

Some not to be missed highlights include:

Opening reception at the MIT Museum's Connections exhibit that explores the social potential of new communication technologies.

Thomas Allen Harris' Digital Diaspora Family Reunion taps into a vast network of black photographic archives across the nation to bring a fresh look at African-American history and community.

A Media and Arts Town Hall Meeting convenes us to clarify our priorities for policy advocacy.

Open Space sessions offer opportunities for you to convene discussions on the hot topics you are eager to discuss with your peers

Join a dynamic and diverse group of veteran and emerging leaders, practitioners, and thinkers in the media and visual arts for an event chock full of big ideas, exciting connections, and opportunities for collaboration.

The International Documentary Association is seeking energetic and motivated individuals to volunteer at the 13th Annual DocuWeeks Theatrical Documentary Showcase in Los Angeles from July 30th – August 20th at the ArcLight Hollywood.

If you’re interested in joining our team, and are available anytime between July 30th – August 20th, click the link for more info: http://bit.ly/xvZQt

Ok here we go with some long shots. Producer on low budget meetings here is...

- Looking for a flat/room to rent in Berlin on August 16th and eventually 17th.
- Looking for a room/flat in NYC to rent-exchange (LOndon flat exchange that is) from August 20th until Sept 12-19th aprox (all dates of the NYC needs are flexible)

And last, but not at all least, I need to know if any kind soul in NYC can allow me to watch 120 hours of rushes on avid format (I will watch any time of the day and accommodate as needed. Likely to watch bet 5 to 6 hours a day max). So, for free or very little money, I need to check these rushes on an AVID. I can operate the playback, etc myself and leave my ID etc etc. The project is a long running documentary about Budd Schulberg (in case any Budd's fans feel like helping with a big thanks in the credits).

The viewing facility can also be in Brooklyn and I can do anytime (including overnight). This is between August 20th and September 12th-19th.

Newsweek has declared the recession over, but for us documentary filmmakers who are relying on grants and corporate sponsors, it may take a awhile for the good news to trickle down. Here’s tip #6 (one my favorites) for hiring an editor in today’s economy. Click here to read all 7 tips: http://newdocediting.com/hiring-an-editor/

Tip #6 Sync Your Collaboration Styles.

Have you ever sat with an editor in your office, asked them to suggest a line of narration and then been met with a blank look? Before jumping to the conclusion that your editor is inept, consider that she might be a brilliant introvert.

How do you like to work with editors? Do you want to be in the edit room (on your premises) and sit with your editor several hours a day? Or do you prefer to hand off the digital files and leave your editor to work in their own space for a few days at a time? Knowing your collaboration style and hiring someone who synchronizes with it will save you the nightmare of having an unhappy editor resign mid-project.

Deborah Hoffmann, an Academy-nominated editor and director who now works exclusively as a story consultant, preferred to hole up with the footage for a spell without the director breathing down her back. She compares working successfully with a director to making a marriage work. “Some people read self-help books and others stumble along on their own,” says the modest Hoffmann. “I’m more of a stumbler. But bottom line is it’s all about communication, in both cases.”

To delve a bit deeper into the psychology of communication and work habits…

Being a documentary film director I made a short film "Endless Journey" in 2008. It had been selected to feature in more than 10 International Film festivals so far.
Now it is in the the Culture Unplugged on-line film festival
Out of 600 odd films it is fluctuating within first 28 films in the first page of th website.
Link is http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/1639/Endless-Journey

I invite you to spare few minutes for log-in and vote.
I highly appreciate to read your comment on my film.
Please send this link to your colleagues also.

This is a good opportunity for someone passionate about socially conscious media who wants to learn about business and media. Our new assistant will be primarily focused on marketing, sales, and business development.

You will be providing support for two organizations:

Eyes of the World Media Group (www.eowmg.com): Company specializing in socially conscious media projects (ex. video, interactive, animation, and print).

Call for entries! PaleyDocFest09 Pitch Workshop in New York. Deadline: September 25, 2009

How do you sell a documentary? In this workshop/competition, five preselected emerging nonfiction filmmakers will pitch their ideas to a panel of distinguished documentary producers. The producers will give them feedback on their concept as well as their presentation skills—great lessons for all aspiring filmmakers. The winner will receive a $5,000 grant, sponsored by SnagFilms, to be used toward the completion of the pitched film.

Everyone checkout the DOCStore for documentaries on DVD from around the world. We've got 355 titles for sale and counting at http://www.documentarychannel.com/store. The DOCStore is part of The Documentary Channel which has been broadcast on DISH Network 197 since January 2006. Our programs are also online at sling.com and DocChannel YouTube. Thanks.

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